By Fabio Parasecoli
GASTRONATIVISM
Food, Identity, Politics
Why has eating become so politically charged—and can the emotions surrounding food be redirected in a healthier direction? Fabio Parasecoli identifies and defines the phenomenon of “gastronativism,” the ideological use of food to advance ideas about who belongs to a community and who does not. As globalization and neoliberalism have transformed food systems, people have responded by seeking to return to their roots. Many have embraced local ingredients and notions of cultural heritage, but this impulse can play into the hands of nationalist and xenophobic political projects. Such movements draw on the strong emotions connected with eating to stoke resentment and contempt for other people and cultures.
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Fabio Parasecoli
Fabio Parasecoli is Professor of Food Studies in the Nutrition and Food Studies Department at New York University. His scholarly work explores food, popular culture, and politics, particularly in food design. He studied East Asian cultures and political science in Rome, Naples and Beijing, and earned a PhD in Agricultural Sciences with a concentration in Gender and Nutrition from Hohenheim University, Germany. He frequently lectures at the Bologna Business School, the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, and the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Bra, Italy.
Photography by Duccio Battistrada
Other Books
Global Brooklyn: Designing Food Experiences in World Cities
‘Global Brooklyn’ is a new transnational aesthetic regime of urban consumption. It may look shabby and improvised, but it is all carefully designed. This book follows this phenomenon across different world cities, arguing for a stronger appreciation of design and materialities in understanding food cultures.
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Food
THE MIT PRESS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE SERIES
A consumer’s guide to the food system, from local to global: our part as citizens in the interconnected networks, institutions, and organizations that enable our food choices.
Knowing Where It Comes From: Labeling Traditional Foods to Compete in a Global Market
Knowing Where It Comes From examines the way claims about the origins and meanings of traditional foods get made around the world, from Italy and France to Costa Rica and Thailand.
Food is more than just a way to provide fuel to our bodies, especially in the consumer culture in which we are increasingly enmeshed.
– Fabio Parasecoli
Upcoming Events
JUNE 21, 2022
“Gastronativism: Food, Identity, politics“
5:00 pm CET
Bibliothèue Historique de la Ville de Paris
Paris, France
FREE event (in French)
Info here
July 6, 2022
“Gastronativism: Food, Identity, politics“
6:00 p.m. CET
M9- Museo del Novecento
Mestre, Italy
FREE event (in Italian)
Info here
AUGUST 2, 2022
“Gastronativism: Food and Politics“
with Marion Nestle and Krishnendu Ray
6:30 p.m. EST
Museum of the City of New York
New York City
Tickets here
Contact Author
info@fabioparasecoli.com